At present, Software Defined Radio (SDR) technology is expected to significantly improve the way network centric operations are handled, as well as enhance the operation or implementation of a wide variety of equipment and systems that make use of radio frequency (RF) signals.
One of the key enablers of SDR technology is the extent to which an SDR device can be made to be fully digital in its operation. Presently, RF signals are typically received at the antenna of an RF transceiver, and then down-converted to an intermediate frequency before processing of the RF signal in the digital domain can be accomplished. This adds significant cost and complexity to the transceiver. However, the use of analog circuitry at the RF front end of a RF transceiver cannot be entirely eliminated due to the analog nature of electromagnetic radiation.
Present attempts at digital transceivers have required such transceivers to incorporate a relatively large number of adders, multipliers and other components to perform the needed waveform processing. Such construction has contributed to the relatively high cost of digital RF transceivers.
Thus, there is a high level of interest in producing a digital RF transceiver that is of simpler and more cost effective construction than presently available digital RF transceivers, and that is ideally suited for use with SDR technology. The reduction in cost of a digital RF transceiver, and the reduction in the physical size of such a transceiver, would significantly help to expand the potential applications and uses of such a transceiver.